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Raptors says building chemistry takes time

The process of building chemistry has been one of the big talking points of the Toronto Raptors’ pre-season so far.

Offensively, defensively, mixing in the new guys — how will this tweaked Raptors team look come the season opener Wednesday?

With the massive off-season trade which brought Kawhi Leonard (seen here on the left chatting with Serge Ibaka) to town, the Raptors say it will be a little while until they can build up some chemistry. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Coach Nick Nurse said earlier this week he felt the team would be “just fine” if he had to set out his rotation. But it is not like the Raptors expected to have fully bonded by the final exhibition game in New Orleans on Thursday. That takes more than three weeks and five games.

“Chemistry kind of builds all season,” Nurse said recently. “It’s not like we say, ‘OK, it’s game one and now we’ve got our chemistry.’ I think it shifts and moves all season long.”

There will be players in and players out, different combinations to try early on. Nurse wants to be able to take one player out and plug another in without huge shifts in play at either end.

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“So far there are some things that have emerged to me that I’ve really liked,” Nurse said. “There’s not a lot I haven’t liked. There are some things that obviously have stuck out that I really like and will continue to like. I don’t think I’m done looking at combinations and I don’t think there’s going to be much of a set (rotation) to start, especially. I think there will be some different starting lineups, which therefore means there will be some different second units. We’ll roll from there.”

It is a process that could involve some growing pains, Nurse admits.

“It takes some perseverance by us (not to) say, ‘Oh, that combination didn’t work’ and throw it in the bin because it was only a four-minute stretch,” he said. “The sample needs to be significant. Sometimes you want to pull the trigger on that stuff because games are coming one after another.”

A certain amount of chemistry is built through the pre-season, guard Fred VanVleet said, but without meaningful games there is little adversity. The challenges mount throughout a gruelling season.

“It’s all good when it’s all good, and then when stuff, you know, hits the fan and things get rough or get rocky — you drop a couple (of games) or things aren’t going your way or guys have slumps, whatever else the case is — that’s when your chemistry is tested, your integrity as a player, as a teammate is tested,” VanVleet said. “Those hard times are what makes the bond, right? You can have the most dysfunctional team in the world and, if you’re winning, you wouldn’t know.”

Danny Green, a nine-year league veteran, said while every player and every team wants to be “perfect” and in sync by the time the season rolls around, that desire is unrealistic.

“Nobody’s gonna be perfect, nobody’s gonna be ready,” he said. “But you want it to build up throughout the games, throughout the practices.”

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Other teams will be working on their rapport early in the year, just like the Raptors. Green said there is usually some wiggle room to make mistakes and still develop chemistry without falling behind the pack.

He hopes to see the team hitting its stride by late November or early December, if not sooner.

“I think most teams kind of gauge where they are about 20 to 30 games … and that’s kind of where guys should feel more comfortable consistently and kind of gel.”

Laura Armstrong is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy

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